Summary
Sue Altman is a teacher, basketball coach, and leader of a non-profit organization focused primarily on combating political corruption in Trenton
Party: Democrat Party
Home: Lambertville, NJ
Education: Columbia University, Oxford University
Candidate for: 2024 New Jersey Member of the US House elections
Current Position: Executive Director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance
OnAir Post: Sue Altman
News
Questions about Biden make NJ Republicans hopeful for fall elections
Democrat Sue Altman was dragged out of a legislative committee hearing almost five years ago. Now that viral moment is at the center of a new Altman campaign ad as she tries to keep the pressure on Republican incumbent Tom Kean Jr. in a tight race for the 7th Congressional District House seat.
“I think it speaks volumes that [Kean] doesn’t meet with reporters, doesn’t answer press questions … Doesn’t hold town halls. He won’t meet to debate me,” says Altman, the former state director of the Working Families Party. “It’s disrespectful to people in this district and people are sick and tired of it and I will continue to hammer him on his cowardice.”
It’s true that Tom Kean Jr. (R-7th), the incumbent serving his first term, generally avoids the state press, but in a district that turned a bit more Republican before the last election cycle, the strategy appears to have worked for him so far. Even his embrace of former president Donald Trump has become less of an issue since questions about President Joe Biden’s cognitive ability has changed the landscape dramatically.
The likely top issue for anyone tuning into the fall elections is the state of the top of the ticket, with some Republican polls suggesting that New Jersey may actually be in play come November. That’s got some Democrats, including Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th), calling for the president to step aside.
About
Overview
Sue Altman is a proud daughter of New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District.
She grew up on Center Street in Clinton, attended Clinton Public School and Voorhees High School, and calls Hunterdon County her home today, living in Lambertville.
After leading her Voorhees High School basketball team to local championships, Sue played college basketball at Columbia University and professional basketball abroad, earned two graduate degrees from Oxford University in the UK – one in International Policy and the other in Business, then went on to become a teacher and successful basketball coach, leading two teams to state championships.
During her time as a teacher, Sue became deeply involved in the fight for New Jersey’s schools and students. She stood up to then-Governor Chris Christie in order to protect teachers and fight against cuts to public schools.
For the last several years, Sue has served as Executive Director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, a non-profit organization focused primarily on combating political corruption in Trenton.
Sue fought fearlessly against corrupt actors in both parties and the waste of taxpayer dollars.
“The corruption tax is NJ’s biggest tax. It’s unseen but pervasive. New Jersey has more than enough money to restore parks, fund our schools, and pave the roads, but when the politically connected have their hands in the public coffers, the public gets the short end of the stick.
Over her career, Sue has fought tirelessly for the people of New Jersey. She won’t stop when she gets to Washington.
Web Links
Politics
Endorsments
Organizations
EMILY’s List
Elect Democratic Women
End Citizens United
Let America Vote
Human Rights Campaign
League of Conservation Voters Action Fund
Congressional Progressive Caucus
Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Reproductive Freedom for All
Jewish Democratic Council of America
GIFFORDS PAC
Working Families Party
National Organization of Women PAC
Sierra Club
American Association of Justice
Way to Lead
20/20 Vision
Make the Road NJ
Citizen Action NJ
Patriotic Millionaires
Food & Water Action
College Democrats of New Jersey
Democrats Serve
Tomorrow’s Jobs
SOMA Action
Labor
Communications Workers of America
32BJ SEIU
Rutgers AAUP-AFT
Hotel & Gaming Trades Council
SEIU NJ State Council
AFSCME New Jersey
New Jersey Education Assocation (NJEA)
New Jersey State Council of Machinists (IAMAW)
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE)
Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE)
Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) NJ State Council
Issues
Sue has been in the fight for a better New Jersey for her whole life — and she’s ready to take it to Washington. From attacks on our fundamental rights to rising costs and unfair tax burdens, Sue is committed to bringing common-sense solutions to the communities that raised her and that she’s proud to call home.
Top Priorities
Anti-Corruption
Sue has dedicated her career to rooting out political corruption in New Jersey in order to protect New Jersey’s taxpayers and our democracy – and she’s ready to take that work to Washington. Sue has pledged to never accept any donations from corporate PACs.
Women’s Rights and Abortion
With conservative extremists decimating reproductive rights, Sue will work to protect access to contraception, reproductive choice, and women’s health. As an advocate, Sue worked with grassroots groups to protect this right here in NJ.
Affordability
Everything is too expensive! From groceries to housing to insurance and fuel, families are seeing more and more of their hard earned paycheck drain away each month. Sue has a long record of working hard for everyday people and will fight in Congress to spur competition in our economy, restore the SALT deduction so New Jerseyans are not double-taxed, fight for a livable wage for all workers, and ensure that homes are bought by humans, not corporations. Our district and our state must be a place where families can thrive, young people can find homes, and seniors can retire.
Protecting New Jersey’s Natural Environment
Environmental change is an existential threat to our communities and wildlife. From farmers grappling with changing weather patterns to our towns experiencing costly and life-threatening flooding, it’s clear that we need bold action. Sue will address our environmental crises at multiple levels, as well as work with our communities to ensure they have the resources they need to address immediate threats to our towns. Sue also knows that our district includes some of the last remaining beautiful open space in New Jersey, and she’ll work in Congress to protect our rural communities and natural environment from short-sighted, environmentally unsustainable overdevelopment and warehouse sprawl.
Workers’ Rights & Unions
Over the last 50 years, the pay and benefits for workers has decreased. This was caused in part by systematic de-unionization and de-industrialization and the loss of buying power for everyday people while corporate and CEO pay soared. Sue supports the right of workers to organize and the PRO Act. She also recognizes the exportation of good paying jobs to low wage countries harms working families here, and benefits almost no one other than multinational corporations. Sue understands that if we are going to support working families, we need to bring manufacturing, unions, fair wages, and job security back to New Jersey.
Lower Taxes for Jersey Families
Sue has long advocated for the taxpayer in New Jersey – often against her own party. Whether it was fighting against New Jersey’s “corruption tax”, pushing accountability for a bipartisan corporate tax giveaway program in Camden that fleeced hard working New Jerseyans out of a billion dollars, or her commitment to repealing the unfair and punitive Trump-era SALT deduction cap, Sue will always fight for fair taxes and smart, efficient use of our taxpayer money.
Public Safety
As our Congresswoman, Sue will fight for common-sense gun reforms to keep our schools, places of worship, and communities safe. She’ll work to give law enforcement the tools they need to get weapons of war out of our communities. She will work to ensure those responsible for crimes of hate are held accountable, investments are made into upstream causes of crime, our local police are fully funded to keep our communities safe, and white collar and political corruption crimes are investigated by law enforcement, and that those professionals have the funds they need to hold the powerful accountable by the law.
Democracy
Extremists are attacking our democracy every day, from their support of the insurrection on January 6th to attempts to undermine voting rights across the country. As she did for years in Trenton, Sue will advocate for legislation at the federal level to make voting accessible to all who are eligible.
Medicare and Social Security
Right now, House Republicans are attempting to gut Medicare and Social Security. As our Congresswoman, Sue will always protect these critical programs and fight any attempts to make seniors foot the bill for tax cuts for megacorporations and the ultra-wealthy.
Public Education
As a former educator, the fight for our schools is personal for Sue – and that’s why she’s committed to fighting against book banning and for investing in our public schools and working to ensure that every child in America gets the kind of high-quality education that they deserve.
Youth Mental Health
Our kids are struggling – and Congress needs to help this generation of young people. From fighting for funding for services to decreasing the stigma around mental health issues, Sue will prioritize this crisis as your Congresswoman
